Collections
York Castle Museum's collections have all been awarded 'designated' status for their national and international importance.
Our collections include the thousands of items on display in the museum and many more items that are behind the scenes in storage.
This section gives an overview of everything, both on display and off.
Costume and Textiles
Our costume collection is one of the largest in Britain. It includes men's, women's and children's clothes and accessories, household furnishings and needlework, and covers over two hundred years. View Collection
Military History
Our military collection includes the best collection of swords, the most comprehensive collection of firearms and the finest collection of sixteenth and seventeenth century armour in a regional British museum. View Collection
Social History
Our Social History collection has more than 98,000 items relating to the everyday lives of people in Britain and is one of the best in the country. View Collection
Star Objects
This section highlights objects which are rare, beautiful, interesting, or tell a story. In many cases they are not always on display and our website gives us the opportunity to show them to you.
Dick Turpin - hero or villain?
Dick Turpin was hanged on York's Knavesmire on 7 April, 1739, after being held for six months in the prison which later became York Castle Museum. View Collection
Guide Book gems
Some of our best-loved and most outstanding objects feature in a new colour guide book to York Castle Museum. View Collection
Home-made History
We have a fascinating collection of more than 100 historic patchwork quilts dating back nearly 300 years. View Collection
Ice cream making
In Victorian times, ice cream was very different to the vanilla, strawberry or chocolate varieties we enjoy today. View Collection
Street Treats
A selection of the weird and wonderful things on display in our popular Victorian street, chosen by members of staff View Collection
Sweet memories
Terry's of York was one of Britain's oldest confectionery making companies and was one of the first to make eating chocolate rather than drinking chocolate. View Collection
Victorian Christmas
The Victorians transformed Christmas with new customs and traditions which reflected the changes in society that took place in the second half of the 19th century. View Collection